Emma Narvaez
For the past two KPASS Speech Contests, Saint Maur has risen to the top, showcasing their supreme rhetorical skills. However, the 2023 KPASS Speech Contest, which was held on November 11, regrettably broke this winning streak, with Saint Maur achieving Third Place overall. Nonetheless, Mr. Gregoriades, Saint Maur’s drama teacher, highlighted that each member was able to earn an award of some kind, including an All Star award for the Multiple team. Regardless of any placement on the podium, the Speech Contest is an incredibly rewarding experience that allows students to overcome the number one fear in the world, which Mr. G claims to be public speaking. He states, “I think experiencing what it is to speak in front of people can help you no matter what career path you are in, is a really, really good experience to have.”
Speech Contest teams from all over the Kanto region arrived at Saint Maur at around 8:00 AM, ready to deliver their highly awaited speeches. Round 1 commenced at 9:00 AM with the categories Dramatic Duo, Original Informative, and Storytelling. Grade 11 participant, Hyunseo, wrote an informative speech regarding the dangers of meat consumption and alternatives that have been invented to subside the issue. To prepare for such complex speeches in a compelling manner requires both technical and creative expertise, Mr. Gregoriades explained, emphasizing the technical aspects: “How do you actually use your voice? Can you breathe from your diaphragm? Can you project your voice clearly? Can you articulate clearly? Are you actually putting the emphasis where it should be?” In addition, Mr. Gregoriades explained that the creative side involved with creating the material itself can be even more challenging. Despite these challenges, the Saint Maur Speech Contest team was able to navigate them with determination.
Grade 11 Original Informative
Round 2 began at 11:00 AM, with a strong start from the Multiple team, who achieved an All Star award and were chosen to perform in the encore performance. The team members, Masaya (G10), Luke (G10), Kai (G11), Sarah (G12), Carol (G12), and Jenny (G12) performed a speech written they wrote together, which explored the evolution of technology starting from the wheel all the way to the AI bot ChatGPT. Jenny explained that they “wanted [their] speech to not direct the topic immediately” and that they “wanted to make the audience think a little bit.” The team definitely succeeded in doing so, engaging the audience with a catchy, comical rap written by ChatGPT itself. However, this triumph did not come at no cost. Jenny explained that the team found it difficult to coordinate practice times, stating: “It’s really hard to get 6 people all in the same room at the same time, especially since we’re involved in a million things. So it consisted mostly of after school and morning rehearsals.” It’s safe to say that these difficulties paid off, and their efforts even became the thing Mr. Gregoriades was the most proud of. He stated: “I worked very closely with them and some people in that group I’ve worked for for many, many years and other people I’ve worked for the 1st time, but it was really a lovely experience.”
Multiple team
After a well-deserved lunch break, the teams reconvened for the final third round, involving the Humorous, Dramatic Interpretation, and Impromptu categories. Charles (G12) explained that “[he] was motivated to join the impromptu category to put [himself] in a challenging and unfamiliar environment in order to hopefully learn something from it.” The Impromptu category is an exceptionally difficult one, as it involves very limited preparation. For Charles, preparation prior to the Speech Contest involved “staying up to date with current events especially on the chosen topic and practicing being able to structure a speech within a limited amount of time.” Although the event may have been a rather stress-inducing experience for some, Rosa (G10), who performed a Dramatic Interpretation speech, pointed out that encouragement within the team allowed it to be a memorable and positive experience, stating, “It’s a good memory that we went to each other’s performances for support.”
Grade 9 Poetry
Overall, the 2023 KPASS Speech Contest was a great success, facilitating inter school camaraderie and entertainment for the school community. Although Mr. G was just a tad disappointed by the results, he was still very pleased with the numerous individual achievements. He also stated: “The two schools that did better than us, Sacred Heart and Saint Mary’s are both at least twice as big as we are. So I think given how small we are, I think Third Place is a very, very good achievement.”
Mr. G also noticed that the competition has gotten stronger, especially with other schools becoming “aware that Saint Maur has risen up in the ranks.” Regardless of the outcome, Saint Maur’s Speech Contest team represented Saint Maur excellently, and The Maurdian congratulates them on all their efforts.
With valuable lessons learned from this past Speech Contest, the Saint Maur team is determined to reclaim the trophy next year at Saint Mary’s!
Emma Narvaez